Mail-bag catching and delivering apparatus.



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MAIL BAG CATCHING AND DELJVERING APPARATUS. I

APPLICATION man APR. 9. 1915. 4 1,178,415. 1 Patented Apr. 4,1916,

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Elmo/whom Guam? HIE \ZOLUMHIA I'LANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

J. V. SCHIAVONE. MAIL BAG CATCHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS. APPLICATION man 1L9, 1915.

1,178,415. A Patented Apr. 4,1916.

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THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH ,c0.. WASHINGTON, n. c.

I EFEJETED snares earner onnron.

JAMES V. SCHIAVONE, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

MAIL-BAG cnrcnrno AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4., 1916.

Application filed April 9, 1915. Serial No. 20,254.

'- To all whom itmag concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES V. SoHIAvoNn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, State. of Maryland, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Mail- A Bag Catching and Delivering Apparatus, of

which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a mail bag catching and delivering apparatus, and more particularly to the class of automatic mail bag catching and delivering apparatus for use on mail cars and at stations.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus of this character wherein mail bags can be quickly exchanged between a moving mail car and station with dispatch without liability of the dropping of the'mail bag with resultant injury to by} standers. Another object of the inventionis the provision of an. apparatus of this character wherein the mail bag when caught at the station by the catching device on a moving wherein the construction thereof is of novel form to assure positiveness in action for the exchanging of mail bags between a moving car and the station without resultant injury to the mail bags when being exchanged and avoiding the necessity of reducing the speed of travel of the car when mail bags are to be caught and delivered to and from a station.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus of this character, which is simple in construction thoroughly reliable and efficient in operation, strong, durable and inexpensive in manufacture and installation.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out In the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through a mall car showing the car and station devlces constructed in accordance with the invent1on 1n operative relation to each other. F 1g. 2 1s a fragmentary longitudinal hori- Zontal sectional'view through the car, showmg in top plan the car and station devices in the positions shown in Fig.1. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary bottom plan view showing the lock for the car device. Fig. 4 is a sectional vlew on the line l4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectlonal view on the line 55 of Fig. 45.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view 1 of the catching fork of the car device. Fig. 7 is a sectional viewpon the line 77 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is 'a' fragmentary plan view showing in detail the movable arm of the catching fork. Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the stationary arm. Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary top planview of the station mail bag catching and delivering device, showmg the same swung to inoperative position with the catch released. Fig. 11 is a sectional view on the line 1111, looking in the direction of the arrow, of Fig. 10.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views in the drawings.

Referring to the drawings. in detail, A'

designates a portion of a mail carhaving a doorway B in the side thereof as usual, and C the stand post or upright at the station,

while'mounted in the car A' is the car mail a bag catching and delivering device D, and upon the post the station mail bag catching and delivering device E, respectively, which 7 will be hereinafter fully described.

The car mail bag catching and delivering device comprises a vertically disposed rotatable and movable support in the form of apost 10 havingat its upper end a central stud l1 journaled inthe-bearing 12 of a carrier13, while in the lower end is provided asocketed housing 14 in wliich is re-- ceived the stud 15 of a lower carrier 16 which, togetherwith the upper carrier 13, are movably engaged in guideways 17 formed in the floor 18 and ceiling 19, respectively, of the car.- The carrier 13 is provided with anti-friction rollers adapted to travel in the guideways 17 in the ceiling 19, while the carrier 16 is formed with stem 21 provided with a collar 22, the latter being movable in the guideway 17 formed in the floor 18 of the car, and these guideways 17 are disposed transversely of the latter so that the post 10 will approach and move away from the doorway B in the side of the car for a purpose presently described.

Surrounding the stud 15 of the carrier 16 and located within the housing 14 is a coiled tension spring 23, one end of which is fixed in the post 10, while its opposite end is fixed in the carrier 16 so that the post 10 will be normally held in position for sustaining the car mail bag catching and delivering device D in operative position.

Mounted upon the floor 18 and ceiling 19 are piston cylinders 24 in which move reciprocating pistons 25, the rods 26 of which are extended and connected with the respective carriers 13 and 16 so that the said pistons and cylinders serve as dash pots to avoid sudden movement of the post 10' when released, in a manner presently described.

Connected to the pistons and within the cylinders 24 are coiled tension springs 27, the same being also connected to the inner ends of the cylinders 24, and these springs serve to automatically move the carriers 13 and 16 when the post is released to shift the same inwardly of the car A away from the doorway B therein.

Secured to the post 10 is a crane or arm 28 having a curved outer portion 29 which forms the stationary limb or member of the mail bag catching fork, upon which is swing ingly supported the movable member or limb 30 of the said fork, which is connected thereto through the medium of a pivot 31, and this fork carries a housing 32 for a coiled tension spring 33 surrounding the pivot 31, one end of the spring being connected to the housing 32, while its opposite end is connected to the limb 29 of the arm 28 so as to automatically move the member or limb 30 toward the limb 29 for the grabbing of a mail bag in the fork and sustaining it therein.

Formed on the limb 29 of the fork is a stud 34 which projects into an arcuate shaped slot 35 formed in the movable member or limb 30 of the fork, and upon this stud 34 is pivoted a trip detent or catch 36 which is adapted to lock with a shoulder 37 formed on the hub 32 so as to normally hold the limb 30 spaced from the limb 29 to permit the free entrance therebetween of a mail bag. The catch 36 is formed with a striking head 38 which extends into the space between the limbs of the fork for contact with the mail bag so that the blow therefrom will release the catch for the freeing of the movable limb 30 to automatically grab the mail bag and sustain the same caught by the car mail bag catching and delivering device. Mounted in the movable limb 30 of the fork is a stop pin 39 which works within an arcuate slot 40 formed in the hub 32 so as to limit the extent of movement of the movable member 30 of the said fork either toward or away from the stationary limb 29 thereof.

Above the arm 28 and carried by the post 10 is a stationary arm 41 which forms a hanger for a mail bag to be delivered from the car mail bag catching and delivering device, while mounted below the said arm 28 is a swinging arm 42 adapted to engage the suspended mail bag for holding it in proper position to be caught by the station mail bag catching and delivering device E hereinafter fully described.

The arm 42 is supported upon a pivot 43 in a bearing 44 fixed to the post 10 so that when it is not holding a mail bag the same can be lowered to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and when in this position is inoperative.

Journaled in the sill of the doorway B is a trip crank 45, the lower end of which acts upon a segment 46 suitably pivoted for swinging movement beneath the sill, while the opposite crank end projects into the path of a trip pin 47 mounted in the post 10, the segment being formed with a cam 48 engageable with a nib 49 formed on a substantially Ushaped locking yoke 50 which is mounted for vertical sliding movement in the frame of the body of the car A, and has fitted in its limbs spring-held depressible locking bolts 51 which project into the path of movement of the lower carriage 16 for the fastening of the post 10 in operative position for projecting the car mail bag catching and delivering device D without the car. On the turning of the post 10 when the mail bag is caught within the fork of the car mail bag catching and delivering device resultant from the impact of the said bag the trip pin 47 acts upon the upper crank end of the trip crank, which in turn shifts the segment 46 so that its cam 48 will ride on to the nib 49 of the locking yoke 50, thereby lowering the same and bringing the locking bolts 51 clear of the carrier 16, which frees the same so that the post 10 under the action of the springs 27 within the cylinders 24 andconnected with the pistons 25 which havetheir rods 26 fastened to the carriers 13 and 16 move the post away from the doorway B inwardly of the car so that the mail bag caught can be conveniently removed within the said car.

The locking yoke has acting thereon a leaf spring 52 which serves to normally hold thesaid yoke elevated, and this spring is mounted upon a base plate 53 fixed to the frame of the car A, the locking bolts 51 being formed with beveled latch ends 54 to be acted upon by the cam surface 55 on the carrier 16 when the post l0is manually shifted outwardly toward the doorway B to normal operative position so that the locking bolts 51 will engage the carrier 16 and fasten the post in such position. 7

Pivoted to the frame of the car at one side of the segment 46 is a dash pot 56 in which works the piston 57 thereof, the same being connected with the said segment 426 to relieve the latter from sudden movement, and to this piston 57 is connected a tension spring 58 which is located within the dash pot 56 and is connected thereto so as to antomatically return the segment 46 to normal inactive position. The station mail bag catching and delivering device E comprises the mail catching fork 59, which operates identically with respect to the fork of the car mail bag catching and delivering device and is formed with circular shaped end 60 pivotally mounted as at 64: for swinging movement in a horizontal plane in a bearing 61 fixed to the post or upright C. Surrounding the pivot 64 is a coiled tension spring 65, one end of which is engaged with the bearing 61 and the other end engaged with the end 60, so that when the fork 59 is released it will swing to inoperative position. Formed in the end 60 is a notch 63 in which engages a spring released latch 62 which is adapted to normally hold the fork 59 in operative position. On the impact of the bag against the fork 59 when said bag is delivered from the car mail bag catching and delivering device the said fork 59 will swing to a slight degree for the release of the catch 62 from the notch 63 so as to free the fork, and under the tension of the spring 65 it will be moved to inoperative position.

Formed on the bearing 61 beneath the table end of the fork 59 is a stop lug 66, while mounted in the said table end 60 is a lug 67 which is adapted to engage the lug 66 to limit the swinging movement of the fork 59 to its inoperative position, and to this lug 67 is connected a coiled buifer spring 68 which is also connected to the bearing 61 so as to become tensioned on the swinging of the fork from operative to inoperative position, the spring being slightly stronger than the spring 68 so as to tension the latter during the swinging movement of the arm to a position hereinbefore set forth, the spring 68 being designed to ab- 9 sorbundue shock and incident to the swinging action of the fork.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and manner of operation of the device will be clearly understood, and therefore a more extended explanation has been omitted. On the post C above and below the device E are pivoted arms 69 which serve as holders for suspending a mail bag at the station to'be delivered to a passing train.

What is claimed is 1. A mail bag catching and 4 delivering device comprising a support, carriers for said support and mounted for movement, pivots rotatably connecting the support to the carriers, means for holding the support in operative position, piston cylinders arranged spaced from the support, pistons reciprocatingly movable.

within the cylinders and having stems connected with the carriers, springs connected with the pistons for moving the same inwardly of the cylinders, and means for locking one of the carriers and automatically released on the turning of the support from operative position.

2. A mail bag catching and delivering device comprising a support, carriers for said support and mounted for movement, pivots rotatably connecting the support to the carriers, means for holding the support in operative position, piston cylinders arranged spaced from the support, pistons reciprocatingly movable within the cylinders and having stems connected with the car riers, springs connected with the pistons for moving the same inwardly of the cylinders, a trip crank operated on the turning of the support, a locking yoke normally engaged with one of the carriers to hold the same against movement, and a trip element actuated by the crank for releasing the locking yoke.

3. A mail bag catching and delivering device comprising a support, carriers for said support and mounted for movement, pivots rotatably connecting the support to the carriers, means for holding the support in operative position, piston cylinders arranged spaced from the support, pistons reciprocatingly movable within the cylinders and having stems connected with the carriers, springs connected with the pistons for moving the same inwardly of the cylinders, a trip crank operated on the turning of the support, a locking yoke normally engaged with one of the carriers to hold the same against movement, a trip element actuated by the crank for releasing the locking yoke, and a dash pot controlling the movement of the trip element.

4:. A mail bag catching and delivering device comprising a support, carriers for said support and mounted for movement, pivots rotatably connecting the support to the carriers, means'for holding the support in operativev position, piston cylinders arranged spaced from the support, pistons res ciprocatingly movable within the cylinders and having stems connected with the carwith one of the carriers to hold the same against movement, a trip element actuated by the crank for releasing the locking yoke, a dash pot controlling the movement of the trip element, and means for returning the trip element to normal position and confined 1 Within the dash pot.

In testlmony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES V. SCl-HAVONE.

Witnesses:

JoirN GLAESER, J12, HOWARD J. VVHELAN.

Eagles of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

